Swee Keat named new Finance Minister

Singapore

NEXT year's government Budget will be presented after February - later than usual - and it will be presented by a new Finance Minister.

Heng Swee Keat's appointment to head the finance portfolio is one reason why Budget 2016 will be delayed, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday when he announced a major reshuffle of his Cabinet.

Even though the Cabinet changes were made early - barely two weeks after the ruling party's landslide win in the general election - they were still close to the traditional Budget date which leaves little time for the newly appointed finance minister to prepare it. Hence, the date is to be extended.

Also, Mr Lee indicated, next year's Budget has to be presented later because there's the President's address in January. This spells out the tasks for the government in a new term - and Parliament will need to spend some time debating them.

However, finance is not new to Mr Heng, who was formerly the education minister. He was a central banker - the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) - before he entered politics in 2011.

"He has proved himself in Education, a demanding portfolio," Mr Lee said.

As a former civil servant, Mr Heng also has wide experience in different ministries.

"Now he will oversee our national finances, allocate resources to implement our agenda," Mr Lee said. "He will make sure we spend within our means."

The man Mr Heng replaces, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who has been the finance minister since 2007, remains a deputy prime minister. He has also been named Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies.

The coordinating role is a key change introduced in the new Cabinet - and Mr Tharman is one of three coordinating ministers who will oversee cross-ministry efforts in three major areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will oversee national security while Khaw Boon Wan, the new Transport Minister, will oversee infrastructure.

Mr Lee said that Mr Tharman, who will continue as MAS chairman, has in fact already been playing the coordinating role in economic and social policies.

He must now focus on this role because the scope of his work has expanded, thanks to economic restructuring and the push to upskill Singaporeans to be future-ready, according to Mr Lee.

He added that "we are continuing to strengthen our social safety nets".

Mr Lee said that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has also seen an increase in the work it does.

"It used to focus on attracting MNCs to invest in Singapore. Now, MTI is devoting considerable resources to helping SMEs and encouraging entrepreneurship and research."

Mr Lee also pointed out that MTI is active in international economic diplomacy and negotiating trade agreements.

One way to make the workload more manageable is to split up MTI, but Mr Lee was against this because that would make the different parts harder to coordinate. His solution is to appoint two ministers in MTI. They would have different responsibilities but work closely together.

Thus, Lim Hng Kiang will continued to be Minister for Trade and Industry, but concentrate on trade. He will oversee trade negotiations, especially the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is in the final stages, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The Economic Development Board and Jurong Town Corporation will also come under him.

S Iswaran, who was the Second Minister for Trade and Industry and Home Affairs, will become Minister for Trade and Industry (industry), taking charge of the rest of the MTI statutory boards, including A*Star, Spring, IE Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and the Energy Market Authority.

Mr Iswaran will also focus on economic restructuring and creating a vibrant domestic economy, Mr Lee said.

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